Thunderstorms and Broadway
by kingfalchuk
Summary: AU Finchel. The title pretty much explains the story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Okay, so it's been a while since I really focused on this story, but here it is! It's definitely not my best work, but i'm happy with it.**  
**

* * *

Finn Hudson loved living in New York. He loved being in one of the most beautiful places in the world, he loved the smiles on people's faces as he watched them in the street. Not to mention that New York had some of the best food in the entire world.

It was a bright, sunny day as Finn was walking through his favourite park in New York. He liked this one in particular because it was small and not many people chose to visit, so he was able to be alone with his thoughts. And sometimes, that was exactly what he needed.

He sat down on the park bench which was most hidden from everything, the one he usually sat at. Today was his time to be alone for a while. He closed his eyes and listened to the birds in the trees and the stream flowing behind him. This was the way he liked it.

"Next time, i'm making my own decisions, okay?" said a loud voice, making Finn jump.

He looked around and noticed a short brunette standing nearby. There was a tree in the way so Finn couldn't really tell, but from the look of her, she wasn't alone.

"I just thought.." said a man's voice.

"No." She cut him off. "You didn't think, that's just it.."

"Rachel." The man tried to grab her arm, but she pulled it away.

"Just leave me alone." She replied, turning away. "Go." Finn saw her pointing in the opposite direction. The man must have done as he was told because Finn never saw him. Instead he saw the brunette walking towards him with anger. She mustn't have seen him sitting there because she sat on the same bench as him.

Finn knew it was rude to stare, but he couldn't take his eyes off her, she was beautiful, even if she did seem to be furious. He must have moved a bit because she turned towards him. "_Damn it." _He thought. _"She caught me staring.'_"

He smiled at her, thinking it would make things seem less awkward. But it didn't. She just looked back with a confused look on her face. Finn turned away quickly. "Sorry." he muttered.

"You don't have to be sorry." She said, taking Finn by surprise cause he didn't think she could hear him.

Finn slowly turned to face her again, trying not to make eye contact. Even though she was beautiful, she was also scary. She was the one who was smiling now.

"I'm Rachel." She said, holding out her hand.

"Hi, i'm Finn." He replied, looking up at her face again, shaking her hand.

They then sat there in what seemed to be the longest awkward silence Finn had ever experienced.

"I feel like I have to explain it to you now." Rachel said, obviously frustrated.

"You don't have to.." Finn said, but Rachel interrupted him.

"'I am auditioning for a role on Broadway. I was fighting with my manager about it. He thinks I should play it safe, stick to something that's easy for my audition. But that's not what I want to do.. I want to do something challenging, something different, and something that is going to get me a role." She spoke with anger in her voice and it seemed like she'd forgotten that she was even talking to Finn. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's already submitted a sample of my voice to some production i'm not even interested in."

"Here." She continued, looking through her bag. "Take this."

She handed Finn a CD as she started scribbling on a piece of paper.

"Call me when you've listened to it, tell me what you think, I could really use another opinion." On the paper was her name and phone number.

"Goodbye Finn, it was nice meeting you." She said with a smile before turning away. "And i'm sorry I didn't let you talk much." She called back out to him.

"Goodbye Rachel." He yelled towards her, he was smiling too.

Finn wasn't sure if he should call her. She was kinda scary and Finn didn't really have the chance to talk in their conversation.

* * *

The next morning Finn went out for breakfast as he didn't have anything left at his house. He walked down the street for a while before coming to a cafe he'd never really seen before. He usually walked past, but he'd never noticed it before. He decided this would be a nice place to have breakfast today. He ordered a coffee and French toast before finding a table outside underneath the trees. It was a lovely day, it was breezy but it was also quite hot.

He waited for a while before his food was delivered. He didn't mind too much. He liked waiting sometimes. He liked watching everyone else hurry around, especially when he didn't have to.

"You stuffed up my coffee order, again. That's the third time this week!"

Finn almost jumped out of his seat. He managed to spill the remainder of his coffee. He recognized that voice though. It was somewhat bossy, quite loud and angry. Then he remembered.. That voice belonged to the woman he met in the park yesterday, Rachel. "_Crap."_ He thought. Finn hadn't listened to the CD yet. He bent down, closer to the table, hoping she wouldn't see him.

"I am so sick of you not being able to get a simple coffee right. I know one thing, I won't be coming here in the future." Rachel continued, turning on her heel.

She was now walking in the direction of Finn. He bent down even further, pretending to tie his shoe. She walked past the table he was at. "_Good, she didn't notice me."_

But she had noticed him. And she was suddenly standing beside the table that Finn was standing at.

"You didn't call me yet." Rachel said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't get the chance to listen to it." Finn replied as he got up and tried to walk away from Rachel. He didn't want her yelling at him right now. But she followed him down the street.

"It's okay." Rachel exclaimed. "I didn't expect you to listen to it straight away."

"Good." Finn said.

"But you do need to listen to it, i'm a fantastic singer." Rachel said, tossing her hair in the air. Finn smiled to himself. Even if she was a little scary, Finn liked her.

"Hey, I saw that!" Rachel exclaimed. Apparently he hadn't smiled to himself.

They kept walking down the street together. Finn was thinking a lot, probably too much. He definitely liked this Rachel more than the one he met yesterday. This one just seemed a whole lot happier.

"I know I shouldn't ask you, but who were you with yesterday?" Finn asked her, his voice didn't sound very confident.

"I don't mind you asking." She said quickly. "'And that's my friend, Patrick. He means well, but sometimes I just don't think he understand what I really want."

"Oh." It was the only thing Finn could manage to say. He let out a long, deep breath. He was relieved that she didn't say boyfriend, being with her would have been too weird if she did.

They walked for what seemed like hours. Finn wasn't really paying attention though. He was day dreaming, again. They rounded a corner, onto a quieter street. It didn't take him long to realize that she'd been trying to talk to him the whole time.

"Sorry." He said, breaking out of his day dream.

"It's okay, I was just talking about myself, again." She replied.

"Hang on.." Finn said with shock. "This looks like my street."

A huge crack of lightning illuminated the street, and then it began to pour. A giant thunderstorm had rolled in while they were walking.

Even though Rachel was wearing an adorable little hat, it didn't stop her from getting soaked.

"I hate the rain!" She had to yell so Finn could hear her. Without thinking, Finn grabbed her by her hand and they both ran under cover.

"I know this is going to sound a little weird. We only just met yesterday." He yelled, wiping the rain off his face. "'But do you want to come up to my place? It's just over there." Finn pointed down the street.

"I'd love to." Rachel replied and they both made their way to his building.

* * *

Rachel stood next to Finn as he fumbled to get the key in the lock. He kept glancing over at her. He couldn't help but notice how adorable she looked when she was soaked. Her hair was dripping, but she didn't seem to care, a smile spread across her face when she noticed Finn kept looking at her.

He finally managed to get the door unlocked and he gestured to let her inside first. She smiled at him and stepped through the door. "_His house is awesome." _She thought, looking around. She noticed that there was a lot of pictures of a woman.. presumably his mother.

"Ugh, so we should probably change out of these clothes." He said, picking up the bottom of his shirt. "I'll get you something to change into."

Finn left the room and came back a few minutes later. He was dressed in dry clothes and was holding a few things for Rachel to change into. "'Who is this?" Rachel asked, pointing to a picture of the woman.

"That is my mum. She stayed in Lima when I moved here. I miss her like crazy, but I love being here. The bathroom is down the hall." He said, handing her the clothing. "It's the second door on the left." She thanked him and proceeded up the hall way.

She returned a few minutes later, wearing one of Finn's shirts, which looked huge on her. "I'm sorry." Finn said when he saw her. "It's kinda weird having you over here when we met only yesterday."

They moved over onto his couch. "It's okay. I don't mind." She said with a smile. "So.. tell me about yourself."

They sat there for hours, each telling the other about themselves. They spoke about their families, their dreams, their friends, and their life, just everything.

"And I want to be on Broadway." Rachel finished. She knew Finn already knew about that, but he didn't seem to care. "In fact, that's really what I should be focusing on."

She got up and found her bag, looking through it for something. Finn watched as she grabbed out a notebook and a pen. She made her way across to the window, watching the rain fall she began to sing, quietly, but it was loud enough for Finn to hear. She kept singing as the lightning struck again. It felt like she'd even forgotten where she was. Finn smiled and got up, walking towards her.

"You sound really good." He told her. Rachel jumped, he obviously crept up on her.

"Thank you." She replied, "But it seems you're the only one who thinks so."

"I bet that's not true." He said, his hand touching her arm.

Lightning struck again as the winds picked up, neither of them could see out the window anymore, but from the sounds of it, the hail had also started. Rachel started to panic. "Oh. I'm going to have to walk home in this.. I didn't bring my car today."

As Rachel paced around the room, Finn was trying to figure out how to keep her calm. The last thing he wanted was for her to walk in the storm. And he wasn't about to make her.

"Rachel. Come and sit down." Finn asked. She hesitated, but sat down. "This is the most wild storm I have ever seen in New York." He told her.

"Yeah, same." She said, nodding her head. She was looking at the ground.

"I don't want you to go out in this." Finn continued. "It's too heavy."

Rachel looked up. "Well i'm going to keep working on my songs until it clears then."

But this wasn't exactly what Finn meant.

"Rachel, I think you should stay over." Finn said nervously. It was starting to get dark now. It took a little persuading, but she agreed to stay over. But only if she was allowed to work on her song. Finn didn't have anything against that though; he had fallen in love with her voice.

Finn ordered take away from the store downstairs and arranged to have it delivered up to his apartment. He sat down next to Rachel on the couch until it got there, his eyes watching her hands as she wrote notes down in her notebook. He noticed that she had drawn little stars in the corner.

"You know what you should do?" He asked. "You have to write your own song. That's what will get you a role."

She looked up. "Finn, you just may be right there." She replied. "But it's hard to write an original. I've tried many times."

The doorbell rang before either of them could say anything else. Finn stood up and made his way to the door. 'Thanks' he said to the delivery guy as he paid him.

He took the food into the kitchen and divided it into two bowls. "_Good thing she told me she was a vegan." _ He thought as he took them both into his lounge room and handed one to Rachel.

"Thanks." she said, still focusing on her book.

Finn watched the way she wrote. So simple, yet so perfect. He just had to watch her. He watched her fill up the page with her beautiful handwriting, and the way she read the lyrics out as she went made him smile. Neither of them ate much, she was too busy writing notes and he was too busy watching her.

"Rachel?"

"Mm."

"I know I only met you yesterday, but it feels like i've known you for a long time." Finn told her. "I just feel... really comfortable around you."

She turned her head to face him. "Finn.. it feels the same to me." She smiled. It was the prettiest smile he had ever seen.

Finn took the dishes and placed them in the sink. It was really late now; perhaps it was even after midnight. You could still hear the sound of the rain falling outside. The lightning and thunder was more intense than it was before. Finn stood in his kitchen for a few minutes, just thinking about everything. He was not paying attention and so he was confused to find his legs had carried themselves back into his lounge room.

He sat back down next to Rachel, his eyes turned to look at her. She had fallen asleep while he was gone. Finn tried to take the book out of her hands without waking her up. But he couldn't, she stirred and woke with a jump.

"Sorry." Finn said. "I didn't mean to wake you. I'll get a blanket for you."

He returned a few minutes later with a blanket. He placed it over her and turned to leave the room.

"Finn.. stay, please." Rachel managed to ask, half asleep.

".. Okay." He said, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch, just as the lightning filled the room once again.

It didn't take long for her to roll over and place her head on his chest. She fell asleep pretty fast after that. There was no way Finn was getting up now. He shifted himself underneath her, making it more comfortable for them both. Finn shortly fell asleep next to Rachel, but he felt her as she put her arms around him.

* * *

Finn woke up the next morning to the smell of something cooking. He immediately sat up and saw Rachel cooking in his kitchen, she was cooking breakfast. Finn noticed that it was still heavily raining outside.

Her phone buzzed on the table in front of him. He looked and saw that she'd missed 6 calls from Patrick. Finn rubbed his eyes before getting up and making his way to the kitchen.

"Good morning." Rachel said with a smile, she seemed to be really happy.

"Morning." Finn replied, also smiling. "You know you've missed six calls from Patrick?"

Rachel looked down. "Mhm. I'm ignoring him." She said quietly.

"Oh." Finn replied.

Rachel's phone started to ring again. She looked angry when she noticed it was Patrick again.

She pressed answer. "What?" She yelled into the phone.

Finn watched her. "No, i'm not coming to your house.. i'm not going out in that rain.. besides, i'm busy." And with that, she hung up and continued cooking, placing her phone on the bench.

Patrick must have gotten the message, because he never rang back after that. Finn was still sleepy as he leant on his kitchen bench, unable to figure out what to say to Rachel after the phone call.

"Sit down." She ordered as Finn jumped, making his way over to the table.

She soon brought over two amazing looking dishes, placing one in front of Finn. "It's vegan."

It looked like cooked up vegetables in a tortilla wrap with some kind of sauce on the top, but after she had mentioned that it was vegan Finn wasn't quite sure that he needed to know what was in it. He was reluctant at first, but he ended up eating it. Even though he refused to admit it Finn really liked the vegan breakfast she'd cooked up.

After the table was cleared Rachel went and stood by the window, looking out into the heavy rain. You could barely see across the street it was so heavy. Finn went across the room and stood behind her.

"You know, you really should start writing your song for your audition." He said. It was a few minutes before Rachel even replied, and Finn was wondering if she'd even heard him.

"I know." She finally replied. "It's going to be hard though."

"It'll be okay." Finn said nervously. "After all, you have me to help you."

Rachel turned to face him. He was a lot closer than she'd pictured. She reached up and put her hands around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. Finn wasn't quite sure how to react to this, but he placed his arms around her, and hugged her back.

"Thank you." She whispered in his ear before pulling away.

* * *

Rachel watched the rain falling for a little while longer. She knew she had to stay at his house until the rain died down, she just wasn't sure of how much longer it would take. She didn't want to leave all that badly, but she wanted to go back to her apartment and she knew she had to go back in for auditions soon.

"Rachel?" Finn asked, she seemed a little distant to him.

"Hm?" she asked, turning around.

"Do you want to work on the song?" He asked.

"Sure." Rachel replied, making her way across the room to join him.

Rachel sat down on the couch as Finn began writing lyrics in her notebook. She usually didn't let people touch her notebook, but something was telling her that it was okay for him to have it. She watched him for a few minutes as he scribbled lines down on the pages. He then handed her the book, as he watched her this time, reading the lyrics he had written down.

After a while she spoke. "Finn, these lyrics, they're perfect."

"It's about us. You and me." He replied, pointing to her. "I know we haven't known each other for very long, but I really like you."

Rachel smiled at him. "I really like you too."

Finn smiled back.

The next couple of hours were spent writing down more lyrics and organizing them together so the song made sense. But something just wasn't right about the song. Rachel wasn't quite sure what it needed, but she knew she needed a break from it all.

"I need to take a break Finn." She told him.

"Sure, okay." He said as he shut her notebook, placing it on the table. "Uh, would you like to watch a movie or something?"

"Okay." Rachel replied, she was glad he'd asked.

"You can pick the movie if you like, they're over there." He told her, pointing towards a cabinet next to the television.

As Rachel chose the movie, Finn made his way into the kitchen to grab drinks and snacks. He couldn't help but perform a little victory dance when he was out of her sight. He really did like her and since she wasn't going to be focused on her song right now, it was the perfect opportunity for him to try to make his move.

When he went back into the lounge room Rachel was sitting on the couch.

"Hey." He said. "I got us some snacks."

"Great, thank you." She smiled. "And I picked this movie." She was holding up one of Finn's old bromance movies. Finn took it from her and put it into the DVD player. Rachel wasn't really into any of the movies Finn had, but he didn't have many to choose from.

Rachel sipped on her drink as Finn pressed play. The familiar music came on as the movie began. He glanced over at Rachel who was curled into a sleeping position, her head resting on the arm of the couch. She was watching the screen as the movie kept playing. Finn wasn't so sure he liked this movie much, he couldn't even remember how he got it.

Half an hour into the movie and it was getting dark, flashes of lightning were now brightening up the room. Finn glanced over at Rachel again. She was asleep. Finn wasn't surprised though, the movie was kind of boring. He watched her for a while longer, carefully looking at the way her body rose and fell with each breath. She began to shiver. Finn shivered too, it was a little cold in his apartment. He got up and went to find a blanket for her.

He returned a few minutes later with the blanket. The movie was still playing as he placed the blanket over her tiny frame. Finn turned the television down so she could sleep more peacefully as he sat back down on the other end of the couch. He took a sip of his drink as a fight scene played on the television. Rachel stirred. Finn watched her as she sat up rubbed her eyes, still obviously tired. She then looked over at him.

"Cuddle with me Finn." She said, still half asleep.

Finn didn't have the chance to respond before she was lying in his lap, her arm draped around his side. He turned the television off before placing his arm around her back. She snuggled further into him with the contact.

Finn shifted awkwardly on the couch so he was lying down, Rachel was still sleeping on his lap. He smiled to himself before drifting off to sleep. The thunder and lightning still active outside.

* * *

When he woke up the next morning Rachel was gone. He could hear her singing coming from the kitchen. Gosh, her singing was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. He made his way to the kitchen quietly so she wouldn't hear him. She had just poured herself a coffee before Finn walked into the room. She was facing the opposite way, her back was towards Finn. He walked closer to her as she was still singing. Without thinking he took his arms and placed them around her waist. She jumped a little, but stayed in his grip.

"Good morning Finn." She said. Finn could hear the smile in her voice.

"Morning." He replied. "I like it when you sing."

Rachel laughed. Her laugh was amazing. She turned around in his grip, placing her arms around him for a hug. Gosh, she felt safe here. "Thanks."

"Here, I got this for you." She said, handing him a coffee. He took it as they both made their way to the lounge room. The first thing Finn noticed was that it was no longer raining. It was still pretty cloudy though. He smiled to himself as he sat down. He was glad she didn't run off at the first chance she had.

Finn watched Rachel closely as she curled herself up on the other end of the couch. She was wearing a tank top and a small pair of shorts. Her legs were smoking. "Wow." Finn accidentally said out loud. He hoped it wasn't loud enough for her to hear, but her head turned in his direction.

"What?" Damn, she had heard him.

"Uh.. nothing." He quickly replied. "So, what do you want to do today?"

He regretted asking that. She was silent for what seemed like hours.

"Well..." she started. "I thought we could go out, since it's not raining anymore. I could go to my house and pick up a few things and you need to get a few groceries. Then I thought we could come back here and continue with the song."

She really had thought about this.

"Um, okay." Finn replied, smiling at her.

She smiled back.

Half an hour later and they were making their way to her apartment. Rachel was trying really hard not to step in any of the puddles, but Finn had another idea. He took her hand and jumped in the next puddle, spraying water over them both.

"Finn!" Rachel yelled, but she wasn't angry. "If my shoes get wet then you're going to have to carry me."

Finn didn't have a problem with that. He smiled at her. She smiled back. A few metres up the road Finn could see a bigger puddle. He was going to jump in it.

He looked over at her, she tried not to look back, but she couldn't help it. He loved her smile. He kept watching her as they got closer to the puddle. Now was his chance, he jumped as high as he could, landing in the puddle. This one was a lot deeper and now they were both wet. He couldn't help but laugh, she joined in.

"Okay, carry me." She said, moving closer, wrapping her arm around his neck.

"Jump." He told her, and she did. She hardly weighed anything.

"My house is just around the corner." She told him, her face was now close to his. God, he wanted to kiss her.

"Good, cause you're really heavy." Finn laughed.

"I am not!" Rachel was offended.

'Nah, you're not heavy at all." He told her.

'This one." She said, pointing into the next building. Finn took her inside.

"Now, there is a store over the road, just go and buy some things, i'm just going to go up and get some clothes and stuff." She said as he placed her down.

"Okay." Finn said, he really wanted to see her apartment.

And with that, she skipped off towards the elevator.

Rachel packed in record time, taking extra clothes. She wasn't sure how long she was going to be at his house. She packed her hair brush and her tooth brush. She even snuck in her copy of Funny Girl. She'd make him watch it later. After all, she was auditioning for the lead role in the stage show of Funny Girl.

She made her way downstairs where Finn was waiting for her.

"Ready to go?" he asked. She nodded in response.

She went to throw her bag over her shoulder, but Finn stopped her, taking her bag and throwing it over his own shoulder. Neither of them said anything, but Finn smiled at her as she linked her arm with his. "_Yeah, today is going to be a good day._" He thought.

* * *

When they got back to his apartment they both decided that they would work on the song for a while longer. To be honest, Finn didn't really care as long as he was spending more time with Rachel. The first thing Rachel did was set up all the things she needs on the table in front of the couch. She's so organised, something Finn has no idea about.

Writing the song was the easy part. They had written most of the lyrics, they just needed to make it all fit together. Rachel refused all of Finn's help so Finn decided to go into his bedroom and play video games for a while. About half an hour later he heard loud noises and yelling coming from his lounge room. He paused the game, getting up to make his way out there.

Rachel was yelling, pulling her hair as she did so. She was frustrated about something.

"Rachel, what's wrong?" Finn asked almost nervously.

"The song, I can't quite get the chorus right." She replied, calmer than Finn expected.

"Let me take a look." He told her, making his way to the couch.

She let him look at her notes this time. Rachel left him there, moving to the kitchen to make herself a coffee. She returned 5 minutes later and took a seat next to Finn.

"There you go." He said, handing her the book, his own notes scribbled on the page. Rachel read for a few minutes, her expression staying the same.

"Finn.. it's perfect." She was thrilled. So was Finn, he didn't want to put up with frustrated Rachel for much longer.

"I'm glad you think so." He said. "Okay, now... sing it for me."

Rachel laughed. "Oh, good try Finn, but I don't think so."

She saw Finn's disappointed face. "Perhaps tomorrow, but i'm not promising anything."

Finn still looked disappointed. "Fine." He muttered.

"Hey, do you want to watch a movie now?" Rachel asked. "I have the perfect one!"

"Sure." Finn said although he was worried what she meant.

Rachel jumped up from the couch and over to her bag. She pulled out the copy of Funny Girl and held it up for Finn to see.

"I brought it from my house." She told him. "I'll be auditioning for the lead role. This is the one I want."

Finn hadn't heard much about the movie, but he knew it was a musical one, so he wasn't too keen on watching it. But when he saw how excited Rachel was he decided to let her put it on.

"Sounds good." Finn said, trying to sound excited. Rachel squealed loudly as she jumped up and down on the spot.

As Rachel put the DVD in the player, Finn decided it was time to ask her something he had been wondering since he met her. "So... when is the audition?"

"Four days." She replied.

"You're going to kill it Rach." Finn said. "You're good."

"You haven't even heard me sing." Rachel said.

"I know." He replied. "But I know you're good."

"Thanks." She said, sitting down on the couch as she smiled.

As he pressed play, Finn noticed Rachel looked similar to a kid on Christmas morning. She smiled brightly as it began to play. Twenty minutes into the movie and Finn was watching Rachel. She was mouthing all the words to the movie, the songs too. He definitely admired that.

Love. It seems silly. But love is the only word he can use to describe his feelings towards Rachel Berry. He's staring at her. Again. She catches him staring and starts laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" Finn asked.

"You.."

There was a small awkward silence between the two.

"Come here." Finn said, lifting up his arm. Her answer wasn't as quick as Finn would have liked.

"..Okay." she replied, making her way across his couch and under his arm. Rachel couldn't deny it. She felt a whole lot safer under his arm. It was weird, yet it felt right. Funny Girl was still playing and Rachel Berry was still mouthing along with every word. Yeah, of course she was. This was her favourite movie.

Finn found it hard to believe that the girl who was curled up under his arm with her head on his chest was the same girl he met in the park a few days ago. The one from the park seemed angry. This girl was calm, and Finn liked her much better. They both sat there in silence for a while, Rachel was focusing on the movie while Finn was doing anything he could _not_ to focus on the movie.

"Rachel.." he wondered if she would listen. "I know this is weird, but.. I really like you."

Rachel spoke softly. "It's not weird.." she said, shaking her head slightly. "I like you too Finn." They were both smiling.

Gosh. He wanted to kiss her so bad, but the movie was still playing and he knew she'd never make out with him while that was the case. Finn had absolutely no idea what the movie was about because he had spent most of the time either looking at Rachel or looking out the window. Both proved to be a good distraction from the movie.

"You're not paying attention!"

Damn it, she had caught him.

"I'm sorry Rachel. It's just not the kind of movie that I would normally watch."

"Yeah, I figured. You've been watching me for most of it."

Rachel sat up to face Finn.

"Rachel, you're missing the movie."

"Nah, it's okay, i've seen it like a million times anyway." She said. "Besides, then I couldn't do this."

She leant up and placed a kiss on his lips. It was short, she didn't want to rush anything. She smirked at him. Finn was so shocked as to what just happened, he had wanted to kiss her and he was surprised to know that she was the one who started it. He smiled back. Rachel took this as her cue to keep going. When she kissed him again it was definitely better. The kiss was much more passionate and it lasted longer. Rachel ran her hands through his hair, resting on the back of his neck. Finn placed his hands on her back and pulled her closer. It seemed as if they were both enjoying this.

When they broke apart Finn pulled her into his side.

"So, Rachel, I know it's not raining anymore, but would you like to stay over tonight?"

"I would love to Finn."

* * *

A few days later and Rachel was still with Finn. The song was now finished, and her audition was tomorrow. She was flustered, and often paced his apartment. Finn told her she was just getting nervous, but she always fought back and said that she wasn't.

"Rach, sit down." He said. "Please?"

"I can't." She kept pacing. "What if I stuff up. Finn, what if I forget the words?"

"You won't. You've been singing it for the past three days." He told her. "Even I remember all the words."

He grabbed her arm on her way past, stopping the pacing. "Please, just stop." He said and she stopped, sitting on the couch beside him.

She turned to face him, her legs crossed in front of her. "I just want to say thank you." She started. "You've been so kind to me, and you had no reason to be."

"Uhh, no problem Rachel, but we're still going to see each other after your audition, right?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

He closed the gap between them, taking her lips in with his. Her hand immediately grabbed the side of his face as she kissed him back, his arm behind her back. He slowly pushed her back, so she was lying down, his body now hovering over hers. He broke away from the kiss, their lips still barely touching.

"I love you." He murmured.

She stopped. Finn knew it was a mistake. But it was out there now and he was hoping that she'd smile, say it back and kiss him until they couldn't breathe anymore. She didn't.

He sat back, running his fingers through his hair.

"Rachel, i'm sorry."

She got up, grabbed her bag. "Rachel, please, don't go."

She didn't stop, and she didn't reply. All Finn heard was the slamming of the door as she left.

* * *

He didn't know when he would see her again. He didn't even know if he would see her again. He knew he shouldn't have said those three little words, but at the same time, he was glad they were out there now. And he hoped that he hadn't stuffed things up with Rachel forever.

It's a week later when he sees her. She's walking aimlessly down the street in the early morning. The autumn leaves crunching underneath her feet as the wind blows her hair. She wraps her coat further around her as she keeps walking. She certainly feels lost without Finn, she knows it's silly, but he became her best friend.

She's looking at her feet, watching as she takes each step. She almost missed him when he brushes past her, but she looks up just in time.

"Finn." She breathes. He just nods. "I miss you." He nods again.

"Yeah, I miss you too." He looks so sad.

"Um," she hesitates, "I got it, I got the part."

She instantly sees his face light up, but he only manages to say "congratulations, you deserve it." His smile doesn't quite reach his eyes and in an instant, he looks sad again. She knows she's to blame and she feels absolutely terrible for it.

"You really think so?" She asks.

"I know it Rach." He tells her honestly. "You're the most talented person I know. If anyone deserves that role, then it's you."

He says goodbye to her and turns away. "Wait." She calls out after him, he stops.

"I'm sorry." She calls out, and she actually means it.

He turns, and makes his way back to her. He looks at her, telling her to continue.

"I just um," she says, "I, uh," she laughs and then lets out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. She says the next part so soft she barely hears herself say it. "I love you too." She then closes her eyes.

Finn looks around, did she just say what he thinks?

"Rach..?"

She looks up, a smile on her face.

He takes that as a good sign and moves towards her, tilting his head down as she tilts hers up, meeting in the middle in a sweet, but passionate kiss.

"You mean it?" he asks.

"Yes." She answers. "Do you mean it?"

He nods, bending down again to kiss her. He never wants to let go of this feeling. He bends down again, picking her up bridal style. She squeals, one hand holding on to her hat and the other holding on to his shoulder for balance as he kisses her again, just because he can.

As everything else in the world disappears, they both feel like the happiest people in the entire world. And as he puts her back down, he takes her hand, intertwining their fingers as they walk down the street together, smiles on both of their faces.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you for reading! You know what to do. :)


	2. Epilogue

**A/N: **So I wasn't actually going to write anymore to this story, but I thought I better finish it with an epilogue.

* * *

**- 6 months later -**

Finn was sweating, he was absolutely terrified. The whole room was spinning and he was convinced that he was going to be sick. His palms were sweating and he had that funny feeling in his stomach. He was so nervous and he couldn't focus on_ anything_.

He just couldn't figure out why though. He wasn't the one who was performing. Rachel was.

It was opening night and Finn was standing outside, waiting to go in. Rachel had gone to her dressing room almost an hour ago. He was trying very hard not to squish the bouquet of flowers he had in his hand... they still had to be presentable for Rachel after all.

Finally they were letting people in. Finn handed over his ticket and walked into the theater, taking a seat in the front row. He carefully placed the flowers underneath his seat, smiling at the old couple who took a seat next to him.

Turning around to look at the crowd, Finn noticed that there were a lot of people here. He didn't even know if anyone knew about the show. Apparently they did.

Pulling out his phone he quickly texted Rachel. "_The place is packed. Break an arm. :)"_

It wasn't long before he got a reply. "_It's break a leg Finn. I love you." _

"_Oh, well break a leg then Rach. I love you too."_

As he shoved his phone back into his pocket, the lights dimmed and suddenly he was nervous again. He knew Rachel was going to kill it so _why_ was he so worried?

He didn't really get to see her as much as he would have liked in the previous 6 months. She was always at reversals, practicing at home if she wasn't. And not once did she let Finn hear her really sing. Sure, he'd heard her practicing the worlds or the melody, but he'd never heard he belt anything out. She always said it was her surprise for opening night.

He was brought back to reality when Rachel stepped out onto the stage, the spotlight following her every move. He couldn't describe the feeling it gave him to see her up there, and knowing that he had helped her in getting there.

And when she opened her mouth and sung, Finn couldn't believe how good she was. She belted out each note perfectly, Finn just watched her with his mouth hanging open. She was _way _better than Finn had ever imagined. It was as if the role of Fanny Brice was created just for Rachel.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, shifting in his seat a little. He couldn't take his eyes off her for the entire show. He had worried for nothing.

* * *

After the show he waited at Stage Door 2, just like Rachel had told him to. He could feel his hands shaking slightly again, and he was doing his best to hold the flowers still. A few other people had gathered around, Finn just stood back against the wall, he'd let them get what they wanted first.

He saw the door open and a few of the actors came out, and then there was Rachel. Her hair tied up in a messy bun with a huge smile on her face. She was honestly the most beautiful person that Finn had ever met. He leaned against the brick wall, watching her as she smiled for photographs and signed pictures for her fans. Watching her on stage tonight and outside here, with her fans made Finn truly realise, that this is what Rachel was born to do.

As the people filtered away Rachel walked over towards Finn.

"Hi, are you after an autograph? Maybe a picture?" she asked coyly.

"No." He replied. "Just my girlfriend." He watched as her face lit up, and he couldn't stop his from doing the same thing. "These are for you." He said, handing her the flowers.

"Thank you Finn." She said, burying her nose in the petals.

"Rach, I cannot even begin to explain how amazing you were up there tonight." He said, taking her free hand. "You never told me that you could sing that well. And i'd never admit it to anyone but you, but there may have been a few times that I shed a tear."

"Finn-" she said quietly.

'No Rach, I just, i've never been so awestruck in my entire life. You are absolutely incredible, do you know that? Your voice is – no, I can't explain it. Wow." He continued.

"Finn." She said loudly.

"I am just so happy, like I can't find the words to tell you how thrilled I am to call you my girlfriend."

"FINN!" she yelled.

"What?"

"Shut up." She said with a giggle. "And kiss me."

He chuckled. "Oh." He pulls her closer. "Gladly."

She giggled again as his lips met hers. The flowers forgotten as she reaches up on her toes to kiss him deeply. Slowly, he runs his tongue along her bottom lip until she allows access, which is almost immediately, their tongues swirling around together.

The flowers are dropped to the ground as she winds one of her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with the hairs there. His grip on her waist tightens, pulling her even closer so she's flush against her body and he slips his fingers in between hers.

She pulls away reluctantly, bending down to pick up her flowers, his hand never leaving hers.

He bends down to kiss her again, but she leans back, stopping him.

"No." She whispers.

"But Rach-" he starts to complain.

"Let's take this home shall we?" she cuts him off, winking at him before turning away.

He takes a second before realising what she said, and now he has to jog a bit to catch up to her. He slips his arm around her shoulders as he catches up with her, pulling her against his body. They continue walking down the almost empty street as she puts her free arm around his waist, snuggling into his side.

"You're the best girlfriend ever, do you know that?"

* * *

**A/N: **I'm sorry if that feels a little rushed or whatever. But there you go, there is the ending to Thunderstorms and Broadway. I hope you all enjoyed it. And thank you so much to all of you who read the entire thing. :)


End file.
